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2 Responses

1. on October 5, 2011 at 10:18 pm | Reply Andy Robillard

   Hey Hunter,

   It’s awfully quiet on the GM front. We haven’t heard yet what’s been decided re: the permission to interview Theo. What are you hearing? It’s hard to believe that the Red Sox – Theo relationship has gotten to this point.

   
   
2. on December 13, 2011 at 4:33 pm | Reply Colin Buchanan

   I am royally pissed (to use the North American vernacular)! A mere 2 weeks ago, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was announced as the MVP of Major League Baseball’s National League. An equivalent accolade might be the FIFA World Player of the Year Award (…if you momentarily set aside the xenophobic nature of the manner in which America views its domestic baseball prowess). Breaking news indicates that Braun has failed a test for performance enhancing drugs in a case that looks remarkably familiar to the cycling fraternity (think Floyd Landis). The similarities are, in fact, uncanny. Landis’ immediate reaction was one of denial and a pledge (to all his loyal fans etc etc etc…) to clear his name, prove his innocence and to explain in a rational and scientifically plausible manner how the exogenous testosterone entered his body and caused his testosterone to epitestosterone ratio to buck the scientific norms to the same degree that The News of the World pushed journalistic boundaries.

   Now here’s a dilemma; his Award hasn’t yet been presented. Should the Baseball Writer’s Association of America, who confers the Award, hold a new ballot and allow eligible voters to take into account his failed drugs test (assuming the result is confirmed)? After all, the criteria voters are required to take cognisance of include, “general character, disposition, loyalty and effort”.

   The effort component is beyond question as Braun is universally recognised as a real “players’ player” who, rather than sit back and rely on talent, gives his all in every facet of the game in which he is involved. His loyalty is also off the table in this debate (although it is amazing how “loyal” a player can be to a team who has, partially on the strength of an MVP-calibre season, awarded him a $105m dollar contract to keep playing for them).

   My real issue is with the “character” and “disposition” aspects of the voting criteria. I am so utterly sick of players of any sport making me fall for their back-story and taking their exploits against their predominantly rule-abiding contemporaries at face value – only to have that thrown back in my face as the result of a failed drugs test, a criminal conviction for match-fixing or a confession to having otherwise deliberately flaunted the rules of their sport.

   Enough! Cancel Braun’s contract. Revoke his award. Make him earn a new contract after he has served any suspension the authorities might see fit.